Runner attachment for vehicle-wheels.



PATENTED AUG. 16, 1904.

G. E. MEYER.

RUNNER ATTACHMENT FOR VEHICLE WHEELS.

APELIGATION FILED MAY s. 1904.

lm fu A Hhmiuifii L wir Hthin it im n ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES Patented August 16, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

RUNNER ATTACHMENT FOR VEHICLE-WHEELS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 767,907, dated August 16, 1904.

Application filed May 6, 1904. Serial No. 206,654. (No model.)

To all 11177/0771, it 77am concern.'

Be it known that I, GUsTAvE F. MEYER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Green Island, in the county of Albany and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Runner Attachment for Vehicle I/Vheels, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to runner attachments for vehicle-wheels of the type in which a runner attachment is designed for application to each wheel of the vehicle to convert the vehicle into a sleigh.

The object of the invention is to produce a simple, inexpensive, and thoroughly practical device of this type which is adapted for ready application to vehicle-wheels of different widths,.',which will not mar the wheel when applied thereto, and which is provided with means for securing it in Vposition uponI the wheel in such a way as to prevent any rattling of the attachment upon the Wheel.

In attainingl the object above stated .and others of minor character Which will appear hereinafter I preferably employ the novel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts of an attachment for vehicle-wheels as hereinafter fully described and claimed, it being understood that minor structural changes may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacriiicing its advantages. v

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate Acorresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is an elevational view from the side of a part of a vehicle, showing one wheel with a runner attachment in accord with the present invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a sectional View upon the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a view, principally in section, through the runner attachment extended upon the ground in position to receive the vehiclewheel and showing a portion of a vehicle in position to pass onto the runner attachment;

and Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the guidetrough used in connect1on with the runner attachment 1n guiding the wheel thereonto.

Referring to the drawings by reference characters, 1 designates a vehicle-body, and 2 designates a wheel of ordinary type mounted upon the axle of the vehicle in the usual way.

3 designates a curved member which forms the principal part of the runner attachment and is provided throughout the greater portion of its length with a shoe 4, adapted for contact with the roadway, the shoe being secured in position by means of bolts 5 or other suitable fasteningmeans. The memberpresents a straight base portion, which is adapted to afford support for the vehicle-wheel and to which the shoe 4 is almost wholly secured. At its forward end, however, the member 8 curls upward and is bent rearward at its upper end to afford support for a pair of pivoted clamping-jaws 6, each of which is provided upon its operative face with a piece 7, of leather or other suitable material of somewhat elastic character, for contact with the sides of the tire and felly ofthe wheel. A clamping-boltSextends through apertures provided therefor in the free ends of the pivoted clamping-jaws 6, and a lever-nut9 upon the threaded end of the bolt serves,in connection with the bolt, to draw the clamping members into as firm engagement with the wheel as may bedesired. Upon the straight base portion of the member 3 I provide a short trough lO of suitable width to receive the wheel and prevent lateral movement of the member 3 relative to the wheel. At the forward end of the trough 10 the metal forming the bottom of the trough is extended and bent upward to form a spring 11, which contacts with the tire of the wheel when in position in the trough and serves to prevent the vrattling of the attachment upon the wheel.

At the rear end of the member 3 an arm l2 is so pivoted that it may be extended substantially in alinement with the member 3, as

shown in Fig. 3, or may be turned upward to contact with the wheel when in position in the trough 10, as shown in Fig. 1. The member 12 has the free end thereof curved outward, as shown at 13, so as to present` an inclined surface over which the wheel may pass as it rolls from the roadway over the arm 12 and onto the curved member 3. The arm 12 is of graduallyincreasing thickness from the free LA.A

end to the pivoted end, as shown, and near the vfree end is provided with a clamp comprising two pivoted clamping-jaws 14, similar in charactor to the clamping-jaws 6 provided at the forward end of the member 3. A clamping'- bolt 15 passes through the jaws 14 to draw them into clamping engagement with the wheel, and pieces of leather are provided upon the inner faces of the jaws to prevent injury to the finish of the wheel therefrom.

The structure above described forms the complete runner attachment; but to cooperate with the runner attachment in preventing rotation of the wheel it is desirable to provide some connection between the forward end of the runner attachment and the vehicle-body. For this purpose an eye 16 is secured upon the front su rfaee of the curved portion of the member 3, and a chain 17 is extended from the eye 16 to a hook 18, secured to the vehicle-body.

In order to apply the runner attachment above described to a vehicle-wheel, the attachment is set in the position indicated in Fig. 3, the arm 12 being extended, so that the curved free end thereof rests upon the roadway, and a trough 19 of sufcient width to receive the arm 12 between its sides is preferably disposed under the arm, as shown in Fig. 3, to guide the vehicle-wheel as it rolls forward over the arm 12 and onto the member 3, upon which it rests. The forward movement of the vehicle-wheel is gradually checked by the spring 11 and by contact with the upturned end of the member 3. rlhe arm 12 is then turned upward into the position shown in Fig. 1 and the clamping-jaws 14 brought into engagement with the wheel by means of the bolt 15. The chain 17 is then connected with the hook 18, and the clamping-jaws 6 are finally secured in engagement with the wheel by means of the bolt 8 connectin g them. When the clampingjaws are all in engagement with the wheel, as above described, the spring11 is extended beyond its normal position, as shown in Fig. 1, and the rattling of the attachment upon the wheel is thereby prevented.

The use of the attachment in adapting wheeled vehicles for use upon snow-covered roads instead of sleighs will be readily understood, so that any explanation of their adaptability for the purpose in view appears to be unnecessary.

1n the construction of the runner attachment it will be desirable to make the trough 10 of each attachment sufiiciently wide to receive wheel-tires of considerable width, and then the attachment will be adapted for use with wheels whose tires vary considerably in width, the contact of the spring 11 with the Wheel-tire preventing any considerable lateral movement of the runner attachment at the bottom of the wheel and the pivoted clampingjaws being adapted for engagement with wheels whose tires and fellies vary considerably in width.

Having thus described my invention, l claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. The combination in a runner attachment for vehicle-wheels, of a wheel-supportingmember having the forward end thereofl upturned, a pivoted arm at the rear end of the wheelsupporting member, said arm gradually decreasing in thickness toward its free end and having' the free end thereof bent outward, and clamps for engagement with the rim of the wheel at the front and rear thereof, one of said clamps being' mounted at the forward end of the wheel-supporting member,and the other clamp being carried by the pivoted arm and attached thereto near its free end.

2. rlhe combination in a runner attachment for vehicle-wheels, of a wheelsupporting member having' the forward end thereof upturned in front of the wheel, a trough secured upon the wheel-supporting member intermediate of its ends, said trough having the bottom thereof extended forward and upward to form a buffer-spring, and clamping devices connected with said wheel-supportingl member at the forward and rear ends thereof for engagement with the rim of a wheel.

3. rlhe combination in a runner attachment for vehicle-wheels, of a wheelsupporting member having the forward end thereof upturned in front of the wheel, a trough upon the wheel-supporting member intermediate of its ends, said trough being provided at its forward end with a spring for contact with the wheel-tire, a pivoted arm at the rear end of the wheel-supporting member adapted for contact with the wheel-tire at the rear side, and wheel-clamping devices provided at the forward end of the wheel-supporting member and at the free end of the pivoted arm, each of said clamping devices comprising a pair of lOO pivoted clam ping-jaws having a facing of elastic material upon its gripping-face and a bolt extending through the pivoted clamping members to draw them into operative engagement with the wheel-rim.

4. The combination in a runner attachment for vehicle-wheels, of a wheel supporting member having its forward end curved upwardly, a clamp for securing the said curved end to a wheel, a trough secured to the wheelsupporting member intermediate of its ends, and a spring extending in front of the trough for engaging the wheel.

1n testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses at Grreen Island.

GUSTAVE F. MEYER.

Vitnesses:

HENRY C. ROMAINE, HENRY J. OBRIEN.

IIO 

